Deb Coulthard certainly has one of rugby’s most interesting CVs. She is a former private investigator, a fraud investigator, rugby player and team manager, and can now add first international female Citing Commissioner to the list.
World Rugby has appointed her as Australia’s first female Citing Commissioner to the Singapore Sevens tournament this month. And Singapore is a far cry from where it all started for Coulthard.
“I kept going into NSW Rugby for meetings and when they heard of my investigative background, NSW Rugby and NSW Suburban Rugby were looking for volunteers and I was invited in to begin as a Judicial Officer,” she said.
“Six years ago, (General Manager Community and Participation for NSW Rugby) Mark Green nominated me for a three-day World Rugby conference at the old Rugby AU headquarters in St Leonard’s for Citing Commissioners (CC) and Judicial Officers.
“From that, I got chosen to be a CC for World Rugby and Rugby Australia. With that, I became the first female in Australia to be an active CC.”
Her first appointment came in 2014 for Sydney-based NRC games and the Gold Coast Sevens. That same year she also shadowed Douglas Hunter (A long-time CC from Scotland) at a Wallabies vs France Test match.
Further appointments followed at the following levels: Super U20s, National Women’s XVs, Australian Schools, Sydney Sevens, Buildcorp Super W and more international fixtures including the Wallabies vs France Series and the 2016 Wallabies vs England Series.
This month she will reach another milestone. “After the Sydney Sevens, I was nominated by World Rugby to go to the Singapore Sevens where I get to meet up with other World Rugby representatives from around the world,” Coulthard said.
And with this appointment, she has become a pioneer for women in this field.
Outside of her judicial and citing commissioner work, Coulthard runs the touchline at her local Bowral Blacks Club in the Southern Highlands.
Most recently, Coulthard has been nominated as a citing commissioner on the Oceania Rugby Panel.
Reflecting on her journey, Coulthard says the priority remains players’ welfare.
“With all the new laws and regulations, from a safety perspective, the game is pretty good now. Player safety is paramount and what we are doing is protecting the players with that focus on safety. At the end of the day, we’re just trying to make it safe for everyone to enjoy,” she said.
Since her start on the NSW Subbies judiciary, Coulthard says technology has assisted greatly with decision-making.
“(Plenty of cases) stand out for me and it’s good for us to have access to all the technology these days at the games. It certainly makes our job a lot easier and the camera never lies,” she said.
And in that role, she has heard all the excuses in a Subbies judicial hearing including: “I didn’t know you couldn’t do that” or “it wasn’t me” or “the ref got it wrong”
After her selection for the Singapore Sevens, Coulthard is eyeing up further opportunities.
“I’d love to work as a CC for SANZAAR in the Vodafone Super Rugby competition and hopefully gain further nominations on a World Rugby level,” she said.
Coulthard is also devoted to Australian Deaf Rugby.
“I’ve been involved in Australian Deaf Rugby, taking the national team overseas twice as a manager to New Zealand as well as the Pacific Cup in 2016, where we went to Samoa and New Zealand,” she said.
Next on the Deaf Rugby calendar is the World Deaf Rugby Sevens which will take place at the NSW Waratahs’ training base at David Phillips Sporting Complex, Daceyville from 22-26 April.
